Ghost Rider made his first appearance in Tim Holt issue #11, published by Magazine Enterprises, in May, 1949. The character combined a mixture of two distinct genres: horror and western. Ghost Rider was created by artist Dick Ayers and writer Ray Krank for the title's editor, Vincent Sullivan.

In the original story, Ghost Rider is the Calico Kid and his horse is called Ebony. The only person who knows his true identity is Sing Song his Chinese sidekick. His persona changed in the second outing, this time he was Rex Fury, a Federal Marshal and his horse was now renamed Spectre.

The Ghost Rider's fate was sealed with introduction of the Comics Code Authority in 1954. The CCA was formed by the comic book industry amid concern about 'inappropriate material' in many comic books, this included horror and Ghost Rider was shelved.

Since that time the character has been resurrected on a few occasions. In February 1967, Marvel Comics published Ghost Rider issue #1, which featured a nearly identical character, albeit without the horror. The writers were Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich with Dick Ayers, the original Ghost Rider artist, returning to draw the character. The series ran for seven issues, ending in November 1967. Since that time Ghost Rider has appeared under several guises including: Phantom Rider and the Haunted Horseman.

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